The Savvy Entrepreneur

Today’s Anti-Procrastination Month assignment is all about effective time management and planning.

I can just see you rolling your eyes at this one.

Procrastination is directly related to time management challenges and ineffective planning. It is said that one minute of planning saves you 10 minutes of execution. So, taking the extra time to implement this strategy will save you time, frustration, discouragement, and yes, procrastination, in the long run.

Here are the main steps to turning a goal into action (each step builds on the preceding one, so do them in order):

1. Determine the goal you want to work on first.
   For example, I’m working on preparing the Getting People to Read and Comment on Your Blog presentation I’m giving at the 2007 IVAA Annual Online Summit.
2. Brainstorm your project plan until you come up with a mission statement for your goal.
   For example, my project plan is: Plan, create and deliver an engaging, informative and uncomplicated presentation on how to use and promote a blog as a marketing tool. Participants will confidently come away from the presentation saying “Thanks! Now I feel like I can actually do this!”
3. Create sub-goals and milestone events (with end dates).
   For example, mine would be:
1. Determine presentation goal and call to action — Oct. 4.
2. Draft presentation outline — Oct. 8.
3. Create and submit PowerPoint presentation — Oct. 11.
4. Practice and modify to fit alloted time — Oct. 12.
5. Give presentation — Oct. 19.
6. Follow-up — Oct. 23.
4. Dissect each sub-goal into specific tasks.
   CAUTION: This is where most people, including myself, get stuck, feel overwhelmed and give up (or try to wing it). If you truly want to succeed, you won’t skip this step. Now that I’ve embraced this step, it’s my favorite part (Storyboarding is my preferred method; use the what works best for you).
5. Do it.

If you’re having trouble staying focused or you’re feeling blocked, start by doing only 5 minutes at a time, then 10, 15, 30, 60, etc… until you’re done.

What’s that? It sounds like a lot of work? You’re right, it’s not easy, it takes time and effort. Keep in mind that setting goals, managing your time, creating a plan to reach those goals and actually doing it will set you apart from the rest, because it’s not easy for anyone and not everyone wants it as badly as you do.

Take courage. The more you do it, the easier it gets.

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